Metal door and the like



Oct. 30, 1928.

A. C. GODDARD METAL DOOR AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet Fild Oct.

INVENTOR.

Oct. 30, 1928.

A. C. GODDARD METAL DOOR AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet I N VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS' PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN C. GODDARD, 0F RICHMOND HILL, NEW YORK.

METAL DOOR AND THE LIKE.

Application filed October 7, 1925. Serial No. 61,008.

My invention is particularly applicable to metal door constructions, and objects of my invention are to simplify the construction and decrease the cost of manufacture of such doors, and at the same time to provide a door which will be strong and rigid and durable. Other objects will be apparent from the following particular description.

In accordance with my invention I provide across the inner edges of the U-shape sheet metal stileand rail members, a metal strip which spans the space between the sides of the members and may be secured thereto, as by spot welding, and which has a longitudinal groove in the plane of the space between the adjacent edges of the moldings within which the edge of the panel is received. The moldings may be integral with the stile and rail and terminate sufficiently short of the ends of the members to allow the ends of the members to overlap and be secured together, as by spot welding. Ordinarily the stile will overlap the ends of the rail so that the folded over ends of the overlapping member will beat the top and bottom of the door. 7

If wooden fillers for the stiles and rails are used, they are grooved to accommodate the panel receiving channel of the metal strip, and are also grooved at their corners to allow the overlapped ends of the rail to be set in to provide flush surfaces, and also to accommodate the folded over ends of the stile. Corner reinforcing pieces may be used for the mold ings. These will correspond in shape to the miter joint of the moldings and will underlie the joint, and may be secured, as by spot welding, to one or both of the members.

My invention includes other features which will appear from the following description. I shall now describe the illustrated embodiments of my invention and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Fig. 1 is a face elevation of a corner of a door embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section of the same on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a section of the same on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Figure 1 with the stile and panel removed and the rail partially in section."

of all the parts included in the assembly of Figure 1, except for the panel, the partsbeing shown disassociated.

Fig. 9 is a detail in perspective of the corner reinforcing piece on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 10 is a partial end elevationand partial section of one of the sheet metal members with the panel in place and showing a modified form of channeled spreader strip.

Fig. 11 is a detail in perspective of a short length of the spreader strip shown in Figure 10.

Both the stile 1 and the rail 2 are sheet metal members folded to U-shape. These two sheet metal members have their ends joined at the corner of the door in overlapping relation, In the form shown the ends of the rail are overlapped by the metal of the stile. The molding is shown as integral with the sheet metal members, the extended edge portions of which converge to form the moldings. The moldings of the rail .are designated by the characters 2*, while the moldings for the stile are designated by the characters 1 These moldings terminate sufficiently short of the ends of the sheet metal members to meet when the members are joined, as shown in Fig. 1. The overlapped ends 2' and 2 of the rail 2, which are the extensions beyond the end of the moldings 2, are comparatively short and are set in substantially the thickness of the metal so that the surface of the stile is flush withthat of the rail. The ends of the stile 1 beyond the ends of the moldings 1 are sufliciently long to cover the ends 2 and 2 of the rail, and to allow of their extremities being folded down to close the end of the stile in a plane flush with that of the bottom of the rail. The overlapping portions of the stile will be secured to the ends of the rail in any suitable way, as by spot welding.

Spanning the inner edges of both the rail and the stile is a spreader strip 3. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 8, this spreader strip has its ends'flanged, and these flanges are secured, as by spot welding, to the inner faces of the sheet metal members just back of the moldings. These spreader strips 3 serve as receiving members for the edges of the panel 4 which is also metal covered, and for this purpose theyare provided with central longitudinal channels which are in the plane of the spaces between the adjacent ends of the opposing moldings. This provides a rigid anchoring for the panels and takes the supporting strain for the panels largely off the inner edges of the molding within which the edge of the panel is commonly received.

In order to brace and reinforce the moldings at the oints or corners, I employ corner reinforcing metallic members 5, one of which is shown enlarged in Fig. 9. This reinforcing piece is disposed against tlieinner face of the adjacent ends of the moldings at each corner, and it has two flanges one or both of which may be secured to the inner face of the sheet metal member as by spot ,weldin In Figs. i and 8 these corner pieces are shown as secured only to the rail The spreader strips 3 terminate sullicicntly short of the ends of the molding to acconnnodate the cornor pieces 5 at the corners when the rail and stile are assembled;

It is optional with my construction whether or not wooden fillers be used for the rails and stiles. lthavc shown such fillers in the illustrated construction. The stile tiller 6 and the rail filler. 7 are rabbeted together at the corner and are shown as perumnently joined, Along their inner edges these fillers are provided. withlongitudinal grooves 8 t rec ve he chann ls of the spread-er strips 3, and the outer faces of these edges are cut out t ive the flang s of the spreader St p 3: On ach side of the rail filler 7 is '9 are joined at the bottom by. a correspond ing groove to accommodate the bottom over lapped end 2" ofthe rail. Also there is provided an external groove 10 to receive the folded over ends of the stile and thus allow the surface of the bottom and top edges of the door to be flush throughout,

It will be seen that there are arelatively small number of parts which are easily a sembled and which provide a rigid construction when assembled. The wooden frame work of the door, if one is used, is first constructed and one corner is joined together as, shown in Figs i and 8. The spreader strips 3 will then be applied to the inner edges of the wooden stile and. rail members which arejoined together, as the member 3 is shown applied to the stile filler 6. in Fig, 4.

. The rail members 2 with the corner pieces 5 secured thereto will then be slipped on over the wooden rail pieces '4', and finally thesheet metal cover 1 of the stile will he slipped on from the free end of the wooden stile 6 until the molding pieces. I join the molding pieces 2% The endsof the sheet metal stile 1 will then bebentover the end of the stile, the overlapping edges being depressed in the groove 10 suflicicntly. to provide a flush surface. Then the sheet metal members l and 2 are spot welded to the spreader strips 3, and the member 1 will be also spot welded to the ends Z of the member '2. Also, if desired, the member 1 may be spot welded to the underlying flange of the corner piece 5 although this is usually unnecessary. The panel 4 will then be inserted through the moldings until its two edges are seated \\itli in the grooves of the spreader strips 3. The other stile and rail may then be similarly assembled and fitted over the panel and joined to the ends of the [irst assembled section and the overlapping ends be spot. welded. If there are intermediate rail sections, they will, of course, be first applied before the two halves of the frame sections are joined.

In Figs. 10 and 11 there is shown a slightly different construction of spreader strip, designated by the reference character l. This is made of somewhat heavier metal than the strip 3 and therefore it does not have its edges flanged, but is instead directly spot welded to the side pieces of n sheet metal member, The heat incident to the spot welding is apt to deform the first bead of the moldings and therefore it is preferable to punch down the metal at interva s along the strip, 3 as shown at El, and spot weld at these depressed points.

Qther modifications in the specific construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described will readily occur to those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of my invention.

Ielaim:

1. In a metal door, sheet metal U-shape stile and rail members joined together at their ends in overlapping relation and having their edge portions converging to form integral moldings terminating sulliciently short of the ends of the members to meet when. the membersare joined, and a. corner reinforcing piece underlying the meeting ends of the moldings, and having portions thereof conforming in shape to said moldings whereby the corner piece reinforces the corner structure including the molding portions thereof.

2. In a metal. door, sheet metal U-shapc stile and rail members joined together at. their ends with the stile member overlapping the end of the rail member with their edge portions converging to form integral. moldings meeting in a miter joint, the overlapped ends of the rail members being set in substantially the thickness of the n' etal and the O\Q1l:t1)- ping portion of the stile being welded there to with the surfaces flush, and a corner reinforcing piece conforming in shape to the moldings underlying the meeting ends of the moldings in contact with inner surfaces thereof and secured to one of the nien'ibers.

3. In a metal door, sheet metal U-shape stile and rail members joined together at their ends in overlapped relation and having their edge portionsconverging to form integral moldings terminating sufiiciently short of the ends of themembers to meet when the members are joined, the overlapped member having its ends which are continued beyrmd the molding set in substantially the thickness of loo the metal, and the overlapping member having its ends continued beyond the molding sufficiently far to receive the end of the overlapped member and be folded over to close the end and a metalstrip spanning the members back of the molding portions and having a central longitudinal channel to receive the edge of a panel disposed between the adj acent edges of the moldings and having depressions along its side edges adapted to be secured to the adjoining members.

4:. In a metal door, sheet metal U-shape stile and rail members joined together at their ends in overlapping relation and having their edge portions converging to form integral moldings terminating sufliciently short of the ends of the members to meet when the members are joined, a corner reinforcing piece underlying the meeting ends of the moldings, and a metal strip spanning the members back of the molding portions and having a central longitudinal channel to receive the edge of a panel disposed between the adjacent edges of the moldings.

5. In a metal door, U-shape sheet metal stile and rail members joined together at their ends with the stile member overlapping the rail member, the rail member having its overlapped ends set in to provide flush surfaces and the ends of the stile member being to accommodate the folded over ends of the stile and having along their inner edges longitudinal grooves toreceive the channel of the said metal strips.

6. A spreader strip for use in sheet metal doors or the like, comprising a metal strip of suflicient width to span the space between the sides of a door member and having depressions long its side edges adapted to be secured to the sides of said door member.

7. A spreader strip for use in paneled sheet metal doors or the like, comprising a metal strip of suilicient width to span the space between the sides of a door member, said strip being formed with a central longitudinal channel to receive the edge of a panel and having depressions along its side edges adapted to be secured to the sides of the said door member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature.

ALVIN C. GODDARD. 

